Federation News

Summit to Focus on Fighting Back Against the Campaign to Delegitimize Israel

Right now, a worldwide campaign under way to delegitimize Israel – and the use of boycotts, divestment and sanctions as tools to isolate Israel – is seen by many as the second most dangerous threat to the country, after Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation will take part in a national Jewish response to this campaign when it convenes an Israel Summit at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at Jungle Island, 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami. Program participants will discuss the delegitimization campaign, and learn how to advocate on this vital issue.

The 2011 Israel Summit is being co-chaired by Norman Braman and Michael M. Adler, and will feature participation from U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The day will also feature remarks and presentations from Natan Sharansky, the famed Soviet refusenik and now head of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI); Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the United States; Irwin Cotler, Canadian Parliament member; Professor Alan Dershowitz; William Daroff of the Jewish Federations of North America; Rachel Fish of Brandeis University; Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum; Martin Raffel of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center.

JCRC Chair Regina F. Zelonker said that the summit was a crucial step toward educating our community on how best to advocate for Israel in the face of veiled bigotry.

“The Israel Summit will be the beginning of our Jewish community’s organized response to the insidious and dangerous delegitimization campaign being waged against Israel and, in reality, being waged against each of us,” said Zelonker. “The summit will inform and it will motivate the participants with regard to each person's role in this campaign. Just by attending on January 16, we will make a difference.”

This event is being convened in partnership with the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Consulate General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami, among many other supporting organizations and individuals.

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The Mission of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation is to mobilize human and financial resources to care for those in need, strengthen Jewish life and advance the unity, values and shared purpose of the Jewish people in Miami, in Israel and around the world.